


The Duel

by caomoyl



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: HPFT, Duelling, Gen, Hamilton - Freeform, ten duel commandments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 17:11:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6667231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caomoyl/pseuds/caomoyl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>He has to surrender</em>, Dumbledore thought to himself. The last thing Dumbledore wanted to do was duel Grindelwald himself, but there were lives at stake and he was the only one with the power to stop him. For too long he had put off the inevitable, hoping constantly that someone else would step up and do what he had been too afraid to do. Now, however, he realised how foolish he had been to put old feelings first and allow them to cloud his judgement.</p><p>Based on 'Ten Duel Commandments' from the musical 'Hamilton'.<br/><img/><br/>Beautiful banner by darkwing. @TDA</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Duel

* * *

**

One.

**

* * *

The sun set outside the Transfiguration office, basking it in shades of orange, as Albus Dumbledore sealed the letter he had just finished writing. His faithful phoenix, Fawkes, immediately flew to his side, allowing him to attach the letter to its leg before vanishing in a flurry of feathers, causing some of the students’ Transfiguration essays that the professor had been marking previously to fly off the desk. Dumbledore calmly flicked his wand to return them to their place before resting his chin in his hands, reflecting on the letter he had just sent. 

_He has to surrender_ , he thought to himself. After all, the last thing Dumbledore wanted to do was duel Grindelwald himself, but there were lives at stake and he was the only one with the power to stop him. He had put off the inevitable for too long, hoping constantly that someone else would step up and do what he had been afraid to do. Now, however, he realised how foolish he had been to put old feelings first and allow them to cloud his judgement.

 _He never loved me._ Dumbledore sighed at this thought. He didn’t know why it still bothered him so much. His love towards Grindelwald had diminished years ago, but, for some reason, it had reignited during his reign of terror, despite Dumbledore’s hatred of what Grindelwald was doing. Long ago, Dumbledore would have done anything to be standing by his side, but he knew better now; he knew that wizard domination wasn’t the path to a better world.

Dumbledore looked at Fawkes’ perch in the corner of the room. How long would it be until Grindelwald sent a reply?

*

There was a pop behind him as a phoenix appeared in mid-air. Grindelwald spun around quickly, raising his wand and nearly cursing the thing that had caused the noise. The phoenix flew to him and deposited a letter in his hand before circling the large, mostly empty room and coming to rest on a small wooden table near the door, waiting to take a reply back. Grindelwald glared at the bird as it did so, then tore open the parchment and began to read. His eyebrows rose further and further towards his receding hairline as he read, and he almost let out several laughs at the sheer hilarity and nerve of his former friend.

How could Dumbledore think that some stupid little letter would convince him that what he was doing was wrong and to turn himself in? Ha. As if anyone could do such a thing? Muggles had to learn their place; Dumbledore used to know that. He had lost his way many years ago, suddenly changing his mind about something he had once been so sure about. Was the death of his pathetic sister really so tragic that he started thinking like the enemy? She was just some stupid child who couldn’t control her magic. The world was better off without her. There was no place for those like her in the new world he was building, no place for her when wizards and witches took over their rightful spot at the top of the food chain. She would just have given them a bad name, given the useless Muggles a reason to doubt their place.

Really, the fool was wasting his time. There was no use trying to convince him that he had to stop because this was all for the greater good. He wouldn’t stop until the world was right and he was ruling it. Witches and wizards from all over the world would bow down at his feet and thank him for liberating them while the Muggles learnt their place and served their superiors without question.

 _No, Dumbledore_ , he wrote back. _I will not stop and you would be foolish to try and force me._

  


* * *

**

Two.

**

* * *

When Fawkes reappeared in Dumbledore’s office, he secretly knew the news that he brought, but still harboured some hope inside of him that Grindelwald would finally see reason and surrender.

He was wrong.

Grindelwald’s answer caused a pang of dread in Dumbledore that he just couldn’t shake. He would have to confront him in person; the man he hadn’t seen since he was eighteen. The man he hadn’t seen since the day Ariana died.

He took a sharp intake of breath as a fresh wave of guilt rippled through him. He had never found out who had killed her, but he knew it was entirely his fault. He had let his anger get the better of him. If he had just rejected Grindelwald’s idea then he would never have fought with Aberforth, and Ariana would still be here.

“Fawkes,” Dumbledore said softly, looking towards his phoenix and holding out his arm which the phoenix promptly landed on. “When I go to duel, I will need you nearby. Stay out of sight, but be alert.” Fawkes slowly bowed his head in understanding and Dumbledore stroked the creature softly.

*

Grindelwald twisted his wand between his fingers, his mind elsewhere. He was going to have to face Dumbledore. He hadn’t set eyes on him in over forty years and had preferred it that way. He didn’t have time for fools like him who were so easily swayed by their emotions. Why must he waste his time now in killing a wizard who would do well in his new world order? If only he would surrender his so-called ‘morals’ and join him at the top, they could be unstoppable, just as they had envisaged all those years ago.

Still, Grindelwald was the master of the Elder Wand. If Dumbledore did come for him, his death would be quick and he would soon be out of the way.

  


* * *

**

Three.

**

* * *

Dumbledore set his quill down as he finished the second letter in a day that he didn’t want to have to write. This letter, however, was much shorter than the last.

_Gellert,_  
If you refuse to step down then I have no choice but to take you down myself. I will find you and we shall duel.  
Albus. 

For a moment, he almost signed his name the way he used to when they were eighteen, but caught himself just in time. He did not like how writing a letter to Grindelwald once again had him reverting to how he was then.

*

The pop sounded much closer to Grindelwald’s head this time, and as he spun around for a second time, the Elder Wand was pointing to the middle of Fawkes’ head. The phoenix didn’t flinch and dropped the letter at the man’s feet before disappearing again in a burst of feathers.

Grindelwald let out a string of expletives as he read the letter. Why was Dumbledore so determined to end this? He must know deep down that this was the right thing to do. Muggles _needed_ to learn their place in this world.

  


* * *

**

Four.

**

* * *

Having not seen Grindelwald for so long, Dumbledore was unsure as to how much his duelling skills had improved over the years. He was a powerful wizard; that much was obvious from his current reign of terror over most of Europe. Despite this, Dumbledore was not afraid of his power. He knew, he thought rather arrogantly, that he could easily match or out-perform Grindelwald in a duel through sheer intelligence. It would just be a case of how to stop him without having to kill him.

*

Grindelwald twirled the Elder Wand between his fingers once again, thinking of the moment he would take Dumbeldore’s life. He smirked at the thought. That fool would soon learn his place just like the Muggles he supported, and, just as he realised how mistaken he was, his life would be taken from him and he could join his mother and useless sister.

  


* * *

**

Five.

**

* * *

Where the duel would take place, Dumbledore did not know. He had to somehow find Grindelwald, which wasn’t an easy feat as he likely never stayed in one place for too long. By the time Dumbledore got word of where he was, he would have moved on.

Deciding his only hope was to set Fawkes on his trail, he did so, sending the phoenix to search for signs of Grindelwald’s misdeeds with the instruction to return immediately when he was found.

*

_He will never find me_ , Grindelwald thought slyly. He was too clever; even someone like Dumbledore couldn’t keep up with him.

  


* * *

**

Six.

**

* * *

It was nearly two weeks before Dumbledore embarked on the journey to take Grindelwald down. Fawkes had only just returned from locating the man. Knowing what this meant, Dumbledore pulled out a piece of parchment from his drawer and placed it on the desk before quickly reaching towards Fawkes. He felt a tug behind his navel and they both vanished in a second.

On his desk, the piece of parchment moved slightly from the draught of air. It relayed the details of Dumbledore’s intentions and what must have happened if he did not return. He left it in the assumption that someone would come looking if he did not show up to teach his lessons the next day. He had come to the conclusion that it was better this way as informing anyone of his intentions prior to his departure could result in attempts to talk him out of going alone.

This was his fight. He had played a part in developing Grindelwald’s ideals and felt responsible for what was happening. The only way for him to redeem himself was to take Grindelwald down for good, to stop the war, and to prove that wizards were no better than Muggles and should be treated equally.

  


* * *

**

Seven.

**

* * *

Fawkes transported Dumbledore to the outskirts of a village in the south of Germany before soaring off to hide as Dumbledore had previously asked of him. In the distance, Dumbledore could hear the shouts and screams of the people who lived there. The street Dumbledore was on was deserted and eerily quiet. The doors to the houses around him stood open, most of them forcefully, and the inhabitants were nowhere to be seen.

Dumbledore made his way towards the screaming, his mind racing about what he was about to see. Grindelwald had never attempted to take Britain so Dumbledore’s knowledge of his wrongdoings was purely from what he had heard. This was the first time he would come face to face with the reality of what was really going on.

He knew it was partly his fault. That much had always plagued his mind. He didn’t want to look into the eyes of those suffering due to his misguided teenage self. He didn’t want to see their pain, but he knew that he must.

He turned the corner and saw why the rest of the streets were deserted. Grindelwald had the entire village tied up with conjured ropes, his followers pointing wands at the unknowing Muggles. There were children crying and parents trying desperately to break free and comfort them. In the centre was one man kneeling on the floor at Grindelwald’s feet, his wrists and ankles bound, his head lowered so that he could only look at the floor. Grindelwald flicked his wand. The man let out a scream of pain and fell sideways as the onlookers let out gasps and shouted at him to stop.

“SILENCE,” Grindelwald yelled in German, his wand turning on the crowd who immediately fell silent. “Do not waste your breath on this pathetic excuse for a wizard. He has spent so long trying to protect all of you Muggles when he should have been having you fall at his feet.” His sliced his wand through the air and a long gash appeared on the man’s chest, blood oozing out from it. “He is a disgrace to wizarding kind and, for that, he must die.”

As Grindelwald raised his wand to perform the final curse, Dumbledore knew it was time to step in.

“GELLERT,” he bellowed, raising his wand. “Step away from him.”

  


* * *

**

Eight.

**

* * *

Grindelwald turned, his wand, still raised high, now pointing at Dumbledore’s chest. His supporters followed suit.

“You cannot stop me, Albus,” he replied, switching from German to English.  
The villagers stared with a mixture of relief and confusion at the sudden turn of events. The majority spoke very little English, but they were just grateful that the wands were no longer pointed in their direction.  
“Leave now before you suffer the same fate as this abomination.”

“Never,” Dumbledore said calmly, taking a few steps towards Grindelwald. “I told you we must duel and I am a man of my word.”

“You think you can defeat me?” Grindelwald let out a loud laugh that sent a jolt of pain through Dumbledore’s chest. “Look at what I have done, Albus. I am winning this war. I have an army and you have nothing but a pathetic wand that stands no chance against _this_.” He indicated his own wand that was still pointing at Dumbledore.

Chancing a glance at it, Dumbledore noted that it was different to the wand Grindelwald had had as a teenager and realisation suddenly dawned on him. Grindelwald had found the Elder Wand. The wand that was rumoured to be the most powerful in existence. Dumbledore felt something drop inside of him and fought to keep his features neutral so as to not show weakness.

“You don’t have to do this, Gellert. You can stop. No one can think any less of you than they already do.” Dumbledore was trying to reason with him without sounding like he was pleading. Duelling against the Elder Wand was something Dumbledore had not foreseen and was very reluctant to do.

“Are you still foolish enough to think you could convince me to abandon my power, Albus?” Grindelwald sneered in Dumbledore’s direction.

“Clearly,” Dumbledore replied. “It is also clear that I was mistaken that you might consider changing your ways.” He waved his wand in the direction of the villagers and the wizard crumpled on the floor rose into the air and to the side, creating an open area. Grindelwald’s supporters were also pushed backwards and bound in a similar way to the villagers, their wands flying from their hands. “You have chosen to duel. On your head be it.”

  


* * *

**

Nine.

**

* * *

Dumbledore looked directly into Grindelwald’s eyes. He had no intention of killing the man standing before him but he would do whatever it took to bring him down. He may have once loved him, but seeing what he was doing to innocent people had destroyed the last bit of love that had remained inside him all these years and had recently resurfaced. Before, he was able to pretend it was a different man to the teenager he had once known, but now he saw him for what he really was. There was no distinction between the young Grindelwald and the one who stood before him.

  


* * *

**

Ten.

**

* * *

Both men silently fired their first spells at each other, but only one with the intention of murder.

  


**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Originally written for Claire Evergreen's Hamilton Song Challenge at HPFF. My song was Ten Duel Commandments.  
> Huge thank you to Aditi for beta'ing this for me!


End file.
